I've been lucky enough to see Iron Maiden live three times now, and the thing I always love about a Maiden show is that it's just good, clean fun.

I know that sounds like an ironic thing to say about a concert where you're likely to hear songs like "The Number of The Beast," but it's true: nothing warms my heart like seeing three generations of metalheads spreading their picnic blanket on the auditorium grass on a warm summer evening, little boy riding on dad's shoulders, both in matching Iron Maiden shirts.

Although Pepper is my family, she's not allowed at any Iron Maiden concerts, and I very much doubt she would appreciate the experience. But I know she is a rocker at heart, which is why I knew she would have no problem pulling off a Maiden jacket.

I used my basic dog smock pattern, adding seams and seam allowances for both a yoke and denim jacket-inspired side panels. The main component of the jacket was a 2T chiId's tee with the Killers album cover. It's my favorite album art because (fun fact!) the original unpublished version showed that Eddie was murdering Margaret Thatcher. After cutting the main panel out of the front of the tee, I fused some heavy-duty interfacing to the wrong side to give it form and to keep it from stretching as I sewed it to two woven materials. For the jacket-style side panels, I simply used some discarded jeans for scrap denim and attached them to the reinforced tee with basic straight seams. Finally, for the yoke I used a Union Jack print purchased from Spoonflower, with a red piping accent. Striped twill straps and contrasting red lining finish the jacket off, and of course I completed the smock with a buttonhole in the center of the yoke so I can clip her leash to her harness through the smock and take her out and show her off!

I've been a busy little bee! Sadly most of my spare time these days is not spent crafting so much as slowly and deliberately destroying all my fine motor skills and digits while working on renovating my newly purchased home. It will look fabulous when it's done, but at the moment I'm just spending a lot of time questioning the previous owners' thought processes (what kind of monster uses a 4" nail in a door hinge?). Naturally, the room that is subject to the most scrutiny and backbreaking work right now is my future sewing studio, which used to be an attic. I have big plans, including a custom hideaway drafting table that folds out over the stairwell banister and can be folded and hooked out of the way against the wall (gotta love having a family of carpenters). I'll be posting all these projects when they're finished, but in the meantime, here's an update of all the unfinished work that haunts my nightmares!

Pretty princess

I've started work on another Rooibos dress, using another stash of Kokka Japanese linen that I've been sitting on for a good 2-3 years. It's an all-over, cross-grain printed linen that goes from green leaves to bluebirds sitting on a rosey vine to birds taking flight in tones of turquoise and lime green. Accented all over with a pop of fuchsia linen! More pics when I finally sew the zipper in and can thusly model it for photos!

Hounds of Hell

My decidedly badass dogs needed decidedly badass outfits. I collaborated with my ex on a denim metalhead vest for Molly, and am searching for the perfect Union Jack to use as a yoke in Pepper's Iron Maiden "Killers" smock. Hails!

Booty droppin'

Been droppin' that booty all the way to the floor... then ripping up some carpet and staples while it's down there.

I was researching DIY floor painting and found these great stripe designs below. Look for my own contribution to this genre in a few weeks!

It's official. I'm that lady. My dog and I now have matching outfits. I traded in my membership card of the Sane Dog Owner society and I'm letting it all hang out. But if I start wheeling her around in a stroller and pre-masticating her food for her, do me a favor and lock me up.

The dress is a fun and fairly easy home-sewing pattern with endless possibilities for flourishes and personalizations. It's called Rooibos, and it's available from Portland, Oregon-based Colette Patterns. The matching dog coat is my own design, which I made using my free basic dog smock pattern as a template. I added two asymmetrical seams in the main body to include a large swatch of the accent fabric, a fun scallop-and-animal print cotton from Echino that's been knocking about in my fabric stash for a couple of years now. And of course I added in the pointed turned-down collar detail at the neckline to mimic the Rooibos neckline. Read more here!

It's here! I've been blabbing long enough about this dog smock pattern that I'm going to be putting up on the site, but now I've finally done it. Enjoy!

This is a simple, three-piece pattern that is great for beginning and intermediate sewers. It can be either a quick and easy project or the basis of a more customized and intricate look. It’s a great basic block to work from if you want to add seams or accents and create your own custom pattern. In addition, it’s easily adjusted for size, width, or length, meaning it can be altered to fit a variety of dogs or other companion animals!

This pattern was adapted from a little coat that Pepper was wearing when I first adopted her just over a year ago. I made a few custom alterations, such as lengthening the coat for Pepper's long doxie body. Now that I've struck a balance that works, I'm happy to share the pattern with you for your own special someone!

Please read this boring but important little note: the patterns I provide on this website are all my own original designs which I am happy to share for free as part of the creative commons. Please do not abuse these free patterns by using them for profit or personal gain. You are welcome to re-post anything, just please link back to Sews Before Bros or credit me, Erika Larson. Be excellent to each other. Thanks, dudes!

Finally- if you make something for your companion using this pattern, I would love to see it! It is my hope to get a gallery going on this site featuring projects from readers and collaborators, so please don't be shy when it comes to bragging about your mad crafting skills. Check the About page for my email address.

I'm happy to say that Pepper and I recently partook in the apparent glut of worldwide dog costume contests at this year's The Whole Enchihuahua event in San Francisco's Mission Dolores Park. Sponsored by the SF SPCA and 7x7 Magazine, the open-air festival highlights the fantastic chihuahua, which is the most over-represented breed of dog in Bay Area animal shelters: more than half the dogs in our shelters are chihuahuas or chihuahua mixes!

Although the pint-sized pups from south of the border were the attendees of honor at The Whole Enchihuahua, enrollment in the costume contest was open to well-behaved dogs (and one dove in pants) of all breeds. And here's the exciting part: Pepper's NyanCat costume won first runner-up!

She has a First Place smile, though!

This was Pepper's Halloween costume from 2012. I was kind of amazed that even in the hipster petri dish that is Dolores Park, NyanPep only got about a 25% recognition rate. Most of the responses were along the lines of "... now, what is she, again?" or, "is that a Pop-Tart?" But even if you've never seen NyanCat, it's hard to not be endeared by a cute little dog wearing a Pop-Tart and a rainbow. Ultimately, though, I think it was the effort and attention to detail evident in Pepper's custom, home-crafted outfit that stood out in a sea of store-bought (albeit adorable) costumes. The judges awarded First Prize and Second Runner-up to pooches who also had custom-crafted ensembles. You can always pay for something ready-made, but us creative types know that quality craftsmanship wins every time.

*Wiiiink*

Pepper is honored to be runner-up to Ace, a handsome long-haired chihuahua who was dressed as... wait for it... an ace! As in a playing card, with a very stylish plumed hat featuring the whole suite of aces. Sharing Ace's court with Pepper was a chihuahua "Beef Taco!" I've never had a taco that's also wearing a sombrero, but I'm also vegan, so maybe it's just something that comes standard with beef tacos? At any rate, I think all tacos, including vegan ones, should come topped with a wee taco-shell sombrero from now on. Just hold the beef and the chihuahua on mine.

In addition to the Glory of Victory, Pepper also took home three (three!) swag bags filled with goodies and prizes from generous donors. Here's the little princess enjoying her spoils! She even got a cute new shirt from City Dog Share. I belong to City Car Share here in the Bay Area, so I was a little confused- is this an organization where you just "borrow" a dog for a couple of hours like you would a car? 'Cause that sounds messed up! But thankfully it's nothing of that sort- it's a San Francisco-based website where people can trade dog-sitting hours with other dog guardians! Sounds like a fun way to save money, build community, and make some buddies for your hound.

Being fabulous. is. EXHAUSTING.

I'm not sure yet how many lucky pups (and birds!) were adopted out at this year's The Whole Enchihuahua, but there were a number of wonderful organizations with adoptable friends enjoying the festivities. Thankfully, the weather was obliging and surprised us with a gloriously warm and sunny un-San Fransiscan day. As you can see, the whole process was exhilirating and tiring for Pepper, who conked out as soon as we got home.

Enjoy some more pictures from this and previous years' Whole Enchihuahua events below. This year's photos (the crappy ones) are by me, others are as attributed.

This is Missy, and boy is she cute! Her human is Ross Fury, a tattoo artist acquaintance of mine who I first met when we were both living in Hong Kong. Ross is back in his native England now, where he and Missy recently attended the 2013 Sci-Fi London Festival. More importantly, they attended the 2013 Sci-Fi London dog costume contest. And Missy here cleaned the eff up! Girlfriend won for her adorable likeness of K-9 of Doctor Who, lovingly crafted for her by Ross. This picture is crammed full of my favorite things: cute dogs, classic sci-fi, crafty dudes smashing gender norms, dudes whose little dogs turn them into marshmallows, etc.

There are murmurs of some controversy (by the way, have you heard how the British pronounce 'controversy'? It's hilarious), as apparently some dog enthusiasts think the wrong pup was crowned winner. Drama! But as Ross himself puts it, "we took part just for fun and Missy enjoyed herself, which is the main thing." That's right, Ross and Missy! Don't let those jealous haters trip up your swagga!

Thankfully, crack dog paparazzo Ian Morrison (aka Dogstar Photography) was on the scene to capture the best entries. Although Ian's beautiful photos capture the spirit and personality of these pint-sized contestants, one of my personal favorites is the photo of Ian flattened on the ground, trying to get a good angle on a teeny-tiny Marilyn Monroe. Please visit Ian's website for more beautiful dog photos (order some prints of his sassy London dogs! They bark with accents!), or visit his London Sci Fi doggy album on Facebook.

Below are some of the other contestants, click to enlarge! Can you guess all the costumes?

The smock is made of a quilting-weight cotton calico, with two-tone double piping, recycled eco felt appliques, and cotton sashiko stitching. One side reads "Vida Vegan Con," and the other is the name of this site, Sews Before Bros. The pattern is my own devising, and I am going to give it to you for free.

That's right! This pattern has worked out so well for Pepper and I that I have no logical next step except to share it with the world. Gandhi told us to be the change we want to see in the world, and quite frankly, I want to see more impeccably-dressed dogs out there.

What's that, you want the pattern now? Well, this is quite embarrassing, but... I'm still honing my Adobe Illustrator skills. Luckily for me, I have a brilliant tutor, and fully expect to meet my self-imposed deadline of May 24, 2013. Which is when Vida Vegan Con starts! How serendipitous.

To get yourself hyped up in the meantime, here are two Vida Vegan Con badges (one official, one Pepperific) for you to put on your site! If you only use one badge, you should use the official one- it's clearer and has more information, plus it's, well, official. However, if your dog has his or her own blog, or maybe you want to put something VVC-related on one of your site's pages, Pepper would be honored to assist! Please link either badge back to the Vida Vegan Con website at www.VidaVeganCon.com.

Check back on both the blog and in the Apparel section of my Patterns page to get the free basic dog smock pattern, coming this May! Click on any of the photos below for a larger shot and your daily recommended dose of dog.

I'm honored and excited to once again be attending Vida Vegan Con in Portland, Oregon, this coming May. But I'm not just going to be eating amazing food and hanging out with awesome people. I'm also honored to be speaking in two sessions: Veganism & Social Justice and Ethics Beyond the Plate.

Adding to my excitement is the fact that Pepper, who has joined my family since the last Vida Vegan Con in 2011, will be coming with me to Portland. Naturally I felt the best way to commemorate this was to make her a special outfit.

I'm still working on fixing up some photos for a widget to put on my site, but here is an outtake of Pepper workin' it for the camera! She sure does love to act all cuddly and cute.

I do have one more plan for how to commemorate our fun trip together- I'll be providing the pattern for this basic dog smock here on Sews Before Bros, for free, by the start of this year's Vida Vegan Con! I call it a celebration of overshooting my goals-- initially, VVC was my deadline for getting Sews Before Bros up and running, and, well, that obviously turned out far better than expected!

So, stay tuned to Sews Before Bros for more pics of Pepper in her cute little Vida Vegan Con outfit, a pattern for you to make your special guy/gal a cute little outfit of their very own, and some updates from VVC in Portland! And of course, if you're planning on attending VVC yourself, be sure to say hi to Pepper and I!